[Bonk]

Hey Everyone,

I was wondering if anyone has any advice or a link to some good info for someone in my position on how to get a job in public accounting…

– I’m from the Detroit, MI area

– I graduate college in May 2015 (GPA 3.01)

– I had a Corporate Accounting Internship during school (1 1/4 yrs)

– I’ve been studying for the CPA exam since then (Passed FAR, sat for BEC, failed AUD – 74)

– Plan to be DONE with this exam by May 2016

– Now I am ready to start working at a firm (bad timing, busy season I know)

**Any suggestions on getting my name out there and landing interviews for an entry-level Staff Accountant position?

One firm practically told me that they only hire entry-level employees from their internship program (which I stupidly didn’t do in college).

**Is it possible to start at a firm with zero public accounting experience, or should I just say screw it and go corporate for a few years!?

This is making the re-study process for AUD that much harder since its discouraging to hear how hard it is to find a job in public!

**Is it better to contact HR personnel, Manager, or even a Partner??

I’ve been utilizing LinkedIn as much as possible to get HR names and have been guessing their emails.

Applying on the companies websites have proven to be useless throughout college to me so I’m trying more aggressive things like cold calling/e-mailing.

ANY advice would ROCK!!

Thanks guys and good luck in your studies/busy season!!

– Eric

FAR: 85
BEC: 84
AUD: 74, 83
REG: ??

[MaLoTu]

I went to a school that didn't have recruiting nor did I do an internship and I managed to land a job in public accounting. It took a lot of “leg work”. Don't be afraid to really put yourself out there. I ended up with 2 interviews that led to offers and both were obtained by going to meet the firms events at schools I never attended! It felt awkward, but it was productive.
My suggestion is that you keep in contact with your school, especially if they are recruited from. When they have events like I mentioned above, go as an alum. I don't know if MI has a state society of CPAs and if they do how good they are, but that could be a way to network.
If you have people in your LI network that know people at firms you are interested in try to get an introduction.

Almost always from my phone... please excuse my typos!

All 4 passed - 2016

CA CPA

[Biff-1955-Tannen]

You just graduated pretty much. Did you go to a reputable accredited school? If so just go back through the school's career services and apply for internships exactly like you would if you were still a student. You should be able to utilize those services no matter how long ago you graduated.

AUD - 93
BEC - 83
FAR - 83
REG - 84

Nobody calls me chicken

AUD 93 Jan 16
BEC 83 Feb 16
FAR 83 Apr 16
REG 84 May 16

99% Ninja MCQ only

[EDM1204]

I was in the same boat as you. I worked at small bank my entire time at community college and at my university. I tried to get an internship, but failed. No accounting background, but my GPA was respectable (3.76). Graduated in MAY 2015 and began my studying for the CPA exam. I had phone interviews with KPMG and BDO but we all know that phone interview means nothing. I had in house interview at Clifton Larson Allen but didnt make it past the second round. I think not having an internship hurt me, but I tried to make me passing some parts of the CPA exam and how I was projecting myself to be done soon a big advantage over everyone else. I ended up getting hired at my dads accountants firm (small). I'm going to use this as my stepping stone into a hopeful big 4 career. Im from NJ but I was applying everywhere that I felt desirable to me ie Cali, Tx, OH, FL, CT, PA, basically anywhere I thought I could prosper and wouldnt mind the move. Now im in PA. Just keep putting your name out there and maybe go to a small firm near your hometown and see if they could give you a part-time tax season job so you can get experience and dont even demand that much compensation for it because your main focal point is to get that experience.

AUD - NINJA in Training
BEC - 76
FAR - 78
REG - 81

FAR- Passed first try
AUD- Failed 5 times....
REG- Failed 2 times, Passed 3rd time
BEC- Passed first try

F- 78
A- 70, 69, 74, 70
R- 68, 70
B- 76

[PublicGuy]

“Public Accounting” doesn't have to mean Big 4 and Regional. There are hundreds of public accounting firms in Michigan. I would know as I'm in that market as well. If I were you, I'd literally go on google and search for Michigan accounting firms. Go to website after website dropping your resume. Remember that many small firms don't get much love on campus because they don't have the recognition of the bigger firms, so they don't get as many resumes. I think I applied to 50 some firms in one day and the next day I got several hits. Many sites had specific people to contact, others didn't so I just emailed random partners. Not the best strategy for larger firms but with small ones the partners often do the direct hiring.

If you can get into the field, it will be easier to move around than if you are not, so that might be a good strategy.

[Bonk]

Thank you guys!

I appreciate all of the feedback. Ill definitely have to do some extra “leg work.” Looked at my schools job site and they are only internships pretty much..

@EDM1204 thanks, you have actually inspired me to start searching in TX, and some other states that I always wanted to move to. Any idea of the best state to move to for an accountant?

@PublicGuy I will definitely look into some smaller firms. You hit my question pretty spot on.. For those small to medium sized firms I will try contacting partners and at the bigger firms HR. I've mostly just been confused as to who to send my resume to without it being tossed immediately into the trash! So thanks!

FAR: 85
BEC: 84
AUD: 74, 83
REG: ??

[PublicGuy]

One thing to watch out for if you do go for a shotgun approach, don't pick up the phone for unfamiliar numbers. Obviously if you apply to dozens of firms a day and someone calls from xx firm and asks you questions you won't be prepared. Let them leave a voice mail, research the firm a bit, then call back so you can sound informed about the firm and what they are all about.

Good luck!

[EDM1204]

Any metropolitan area would be the best move for anyones career, but with that comes with a lot of competition and higher living costs. It honestly all depends on the person. Also it's sad that I'm going to say this but its completely true. I remember I went onto KPMG's website and looked up each location I wanted to go to and tried to get in touch with someone in the HR department and just sent them my resume. Obviously I either got no answer or the “sorry our positions are full.”

AUD - NINJA in Training
BEC - 76
FAR - 78
REG - 81

FAR- Passed first try
AUD- Failed 5 times....
REG- Failed 2 times, Passed 3rd time
BEC- Passed first try

F- 78
A- 70, 69, 74, 70
R- 68, 70
B- 76

[Bonk]

That is a good idea to let them leave a message first! Thanks!

Yea places like KPMG are pretty impossible in my mind to find an entry level position unless you had a 3.80 GPA and an internship going into your Junior year! Who would want to work for an employer that doesn't give you the time of day in the first place anyways? Props to those people that did get a job like that though!! Just not for me..

So the plan is..

1. PASS AUDIT this coming weekend!
2. Apply at small/medium firms like crazy
(I might even look into Houston or Boston.. https://www.nasba.org/features/the-15-top-cities-for-accounting-careers/)
3. Contact the partners/HR and everyone until they think I'm insane (or motivated)
4. Let them leave a message so I know who I'm about to talk to

haha thanks all! Hope this forum helps others that are worried about a job too!

FAR: 85
BEC: 84
AUD: 74, 83
REG: ??

[EuroAddict]

My suggestion would be to contact a well known and reputable recruiter (not Robert Half). I am not sure how well it would work out just firing your resume out to companies. It will most likely end up in a black hole. Not to be a debbie downer but if you choose that route they might just look at GPA and pass right away.

Going with a recruiter they kind of vouch for you when they send your resume to a company.

-----------------------------
BEC - 77, 03/2015 (first try)
FAR - 79, 05/2015 (second try)
REG - 83, 12/2015 (first try)
AUD - 84, 03/2015 (first try)

I got 99 problems but the CPA ain't one.

[Bonk]

Any known recruiters that have public accounting clients?

FAR: 85
BEC: 84
AUD: 74, 83
REG: ??

[mb23]

I'm from the Detroit area, too. I got a MAcc from a local university and didn't do an internship (my undergrad was in a completely unrelated field). By the time I got my MAcc I was probably out of the age range the Big 4 prefers, and I focused on small- and medium-sized firms. I used the school's job board, various career sites, and Google searches to find firms in the area and ended up with a small firm (I've since moved on and don't work in public anymore). Just focus on the suburbs near you, and you should find at least a couple small firms with a website in each decent-sized suburb, and from there you can look at staff profiles to see what schools and experience their accountants have, see if they have listed any job openings, a general application form, or an email address to send resumes, and go from there.

If you use a career site that aggregates job postings, you can often browse through the accounting and finance listings to get the names of some recruiting companies. For example, you might browse through some postings and it will link back to Robert Half or Accretive or whomever, and once you get the names of a few recruiting sites you can go directly to their sites to see if you can find specific jobs that interest you. As far as the GPA goes, I think a smaller firm might be willing to overlook it if you interview well, can explain any factors that caused it to not be higher, and that you're already halfway through the exam showing you're committed to the profession and proficient enough to pass two sections so far and narrowly missed passing a third that you're retaking soon.

Good luck!

[B2RAD]

oo ya. honestly my 6 internships did nothing for me pay wise or experience wise out of school lol i am doing the exact same thing now as i did in college lol just looked good on the resume.

i say just email and network and you will be fine. i am in Detroit area as well and i just started at a small firm to try it out to compare to my large firm and company experience. worse case i work here while getting CPA and 150 done and move into another firm that suits me better. still feeling out this small firm after 4 weeks in.

i still get calls from partners i networked with saying if i ever want to move, they want to talk so if they like you, they will hound you lol

i second the GPA thing, if you can interview well and show you like the profession they overlook at the small-medium sized level. i have a 3.8 at community college, and 3.0 from full undergrad. none of that came up during my interviews with smaller medium firms. and i never saw myself as a big four guy so i didnt even apply to them .

i was just kinda disappointed that my accounting work in college didn't get me anymore benefits out of school. finished my undergrad in September and thought a my work experience and ability to work full time and get good grades would give me a little boost in something lol but i did make some nice cash to pay off school which works too. have to look at the positives, i have a job, trying to get CPA done and will have some cash to offset my masters cost.

Brad

AUD - 69 (1/6/16) 69 (10-4-15)
FAR - Spring 2016
BEC - 73 (11-23-15) Retake plan Spring 2016
REG - Summer 2016

[Mehow]

Most people I know usually have a job lined up before college ends. I think it's great you're almost done with the CPA though. If you're looking for Big Four, I think you're GPA isn't really too great. Their recruiting season is in Fall, at least in Chicago. I got hired by a Big Four firm and received offers from another one as well as quite a few mid tier as well without an internship. I think if you're not going a public accounting route asking friends would be beneficial. I personally believe contacting recruiters if you want to go public is the best way to receive a job in that field. I'm about to graduate this June, but have had my job lined up since October.

I think it's possible for you to get a staff accounting position without an internship. Make sure your LinkedIn is filled in with key words, you should look into it on Google. I've had numerous recruiters contact me simply through LinkedIn for staff accounting positions, Derivative trading, etc.

FAR = 86 4/22/16
BEC = 80 6/01/16
REG = 07/26/16
AUD = ?

[Anonymous]

Eric – I see you got a position based on your LinkedIn profile. Curious how you pulled that off?

[Anonymous]

Even though this is an old thread, something I'd like to add for people doing the “shotgun approach” to applying: if you're sending a cover letter that you use repeatedly, make sure that you always always always change the company name and the name of the person it's addressed to! You'd be surprised how many applicants miss this, and when you work at Smith & Co, getting a cover letter address to Jones CPA Firm isn't impressive. 😐 Same thing if you put the firm's name in your objective (which I'm not a personal fan of objectives, but if you do, make sure you update it 🙂 ).

[Author]

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